EXCLUSIVE: Q&A with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein
8/2/2019
Gen. David Goldfein is the 21st Air Force Chief of Staff. On July 31, he spoke with National Defense staff writer Connie Lee to discuss a wide range of issues facing the service. The following Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Q: When do you anticipate the Air Force fielding an operational hypersonic weapon [the Pentagon's top R&D priority]?
A: Right now we're on track to reach ... early initial operating capability in FY ’22. So we're doing this under the new authorities granted to us by Congress. The 804 authorities allow us to prototype and experiment. So we're moving pretty quickly. One of the things that's ... an important part of our story, of course, is how closely we're aligned with the other services. ...We're taking the best of breed from each service. And quite frankly, we don't care which service it comes from. If it works well, we incorporate it quickly.
Q: What is the timeline for the hypersonic conventional strike weapon program?
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2019/8/2/air-force-chief-of-staff-gen-david-goldfein
